Happy2CU

I work for DaVita. Benefits are reasonable priced. There is bonus opportunity, but it's dependent upon your patient's lab values and a variety of other criteria, some within your control, some not. Management will promise you bonus opportunity as a recruitment tool, but depending upon how your hire date falls within the quarter, it will take a good year to become bonus eligible. Depending upon your clinic, you may work extremely long hours, have minimal opportunity to consume food and toilet yourself. Some of the techs in dialysis can be brutal, especially to a "newbie". Some techs resent the RN's and let it be known. It's a tough call. I work for DaVita. I've been employed with them a bit over three years. I feel kind of "stuck"......sort of hate it. Then again, I'm "only" an LPN who does not reside in an urban area. My employment opportunities are limited. But, I'm looking......... Best of luck to you in whatever you decide. Some people love dialysis and some people love DaVita. If you do go with them, try for as much money upfront as you can, because you sure won't be getting it with the company's generous 2% salary increase allotment.

I reread your post..... I would definitely recommend a meeting with your DON and ADON. Call them back today to schedule this meeting. Things need to change with how meds are received and signed for. Your ADON was quick to tell you about "police, lawsuit, losing your license".....yeah,the method for receiving meds needs to change and definitely get personal liability insurance asap.

Just a quick response here. I would absolutely recommend having liability insurance. I'm an LPN as well (work in dialysis). I have mine thru NSO. It's very reasonable, and I feel so much more comfortable having it. I would speak with your DON regarding the method that narcs are received from pharmacy. I worked at a nursing home once.....when we signed for meds from pharmacy we were signing for each specific med. Meaning we would physically inspect each packet and sign as received. I wouldn't be comfortable signing for narcotics without physically seeing them. Best of luck to you. Glad everything worked out okay. Hugz!!

Cannulating without gloves........ I can tell you that I would not be working there. If there were no gloves, I would not accept my assignment and I would leave the building. That's beyond horrid.......we run out of some supplies sometimes...... but gloves. ??? Terrible.

Yeppers...... I got absolutely nothing as well. Actually I would have appreciated the book. It's waaaaaay better than nothing...at least they are thinking of you all in some aspect.

Ditto to what all of the above posters have said. She is dangerous, she is a threat to your professional reputation and livehood. What a very unhappy and sad person she must be. Take action with management now!! Best of luck to you.

I don't wear my wedding/engagement or any other rings to work. I did for while..... Just choose not to now. Doesn't mean I love my husband any less. Just feel it's safer for me and my patients. Personal choice.

They should be fine. I trained a blind man to do his own peritoneal dialysis at home. The training look considerably longer than training other patients with vision, but he's doing great. I agree with the prior poster, honesty is best.

Obama all the way!!!

I once worked with a woman I hated giving report to. She wanted everything presented in a very specific was......she was a tough one. I never felt my report was good enough for her. I also felt like she didn't like me...... anyhow...... On my last day of work at that facility (I was moving out of state), she literally started bawling, crying, she was going to miss me, I was such a great nurse and friend. Yeah, seriously. Blew me away. She gave me a nice card and a nice gift. I guess she liked me after all. In a way, her demanding of report a specific way certainly did make me improve my report giving skills. So, she did help me grow as a nurse.

Warm prune juice with some melted butter in it ~ about a teaspoon of butter. That will do the trick!!

I've worked with Pentacostal nurses/MAs etc who wore skirts due to religion. Up north I worked with a young woman who would occasionally wear a white skirt with socks and tennis shoes in the summer......she said it was cool and comfortable. Last summer I worked per diem at a local nursing home for some extra $, there was an agency nurse who I believe always wore a skirt.....not sure of her reason for doing so. Personally I'll stick with scrub pants! :-)

The 4.25 solution that your patient was receiving is the "strongest". It removes both fluid (usually a fairly large amount) and toxins in a short period of time and "generally" should only be used when patient is fluid overloaded. 2.5% solution removes both fluid and toxins. The 1.5% solution removes toxins only, generally little or no fluid removal and is used to maintain your patient or for a patient who is dehydrated. There is also a fluid called Extraneal (icodextrin) which is different than the other three because is used once per day and stays in the peritoneal cavity for 8 - 16 hours. Generally someone who is fluid overloaded and is using the 4.25% should see a decrease in their B/P as the fluid they have on their body decreases. If your patient is pulling off 3.2 liters of fluid per day with the 4.25, it may seem like a lot, but he/she may be waaaaay fluid overloaded and it may take a while. Also depends upon the residual renal function your patient has. I would definitely recommend contacting the nephrologist to clarify the order based on pt weight, B/P etc.

I remembe when I was in nursing school and doing my clinicals. At the time, at age 45, I was an older student. One of my clinical instructors was a brilliant (and very young) woman in her late 20's. I was dressed in my student attire, all white, the school patch, hair off of my collar, etc. My instructor was wearing basic nursing scrubs. My instructor followed me into my patient's room. I was to be observed doing a procedure....can't recall what exactly. I introducted myself as a student, introducted my instructor as Miss Last Name and proceded ahead. At the end, the patient smiled at me and thanked me. He then turned turned to my instructor who all the while had been standing quietly off to the side. He smile at her and said "And all the best to you young lady. You'll make a fine nurse someday". Ahhhh, when I corrected him and apologized for the confusion (smile), he said that he assumed that I was the instructor because I was dressed all in white and had patches on my uniform and "looked more like a nurse". And yes, I got an excellent grade from that instructor.

I would ask the school if I could at least have the pin that I paid for and skip the pinning ceremony the school is planning. It's nice that you and your classmates are doing something special on your own. My LPN pinning was held in the school, very crowded, not enough seats for everyone, it was crappy and kind of an embarassment to be honest. I wish I would have skipped it. Tell them you want the pin you paid for, do your own thing and enjoy your special personal pinning with your family and classmates. Congrats!!

Moriah, I'm sorry that I just now came across this post. I'm an LPN who works in a Peritoneal Dialysis unit with DaVita. I really enjoy my job. Yes, there are days that are stressful; people are non compliant, catheters aren't always patent upon placement, or afterwards for that matter, people get peritonitis. Other days it's quite routine. I've been here for two years now and my months generally flow in the same fashion. Every month you draw labs on everyone, adequacy every quarter, lots of phone triage, training the new patients, etc. DaVita will train you well before letting you fly on your own. Since today is the 10th you've probably already interviewed since your post was from late last month. Any specific questions you have, please let me know. All the best to you in whatever you decide. Personally I find PD to be rewarding.

Topgungirl, I looooove nursing. I was in banking for so long. Started out in a branch. Worked as a branch manager for a while. Most of the time (last 10 years) I was in H.R. in banking. I just got so tired of it. The employee relations part was the worst, doing the layoffs, the investigations. I was always the "bad" one. I do dialysis now. I work in P.D. training patients to do their own dialysis at home. It's very rewarding for me. I never felt fulfilled in banking. Here I do. I feel like a make a difference. Advice for you. Just follow your heart. I didn't go thru my nursing program till I was 45. I wish I would have done it much, much sooner. I do feel my banking skills (people management, interpersonal skills, etc) are very transferrable to nursing. Best of luck to you!!!! (hugs)

I'm sitting at my work computer right now, glowing with the news that one of my dialysis patients is hospitalized and is currently in the recovery room doing well. He received his kidney transplant earlier today. I just got off of the phone with his wife. She's so happy, absolutely beyond words. I look out into the lobby of our office and see a wooden plaque that he and his wife gave to us when he first started training to do his peritoneal dialysis at home. It reads Faith, Hope and Love. On the back they wrote a personal message of thanks to our staff, along with a message of their faith that he would get a kidney someday. Well, that day has come. I've only been a nurse for a few short years, but yeah, it just doesn't get much better than the happiness and emotion these folks are feeling today. I'm honored to be a small part of it.

I'm an LPN who works strictly with Peritoneal Dialysis patients. After two years here, I'm still learning something new almost every day. No boredom here. I teach new patients how to perform their treatments, draw labs, monitor labs, lots of phone triage, dressing changes for new PD caths, pre-ESRD counseling, clinic visits and the list goes on. Occasionally a patient will receive a kidney transplant ~ they come back to visit ~ they look and feel so well.... it's the best feeling in the world. Recently a PD patient regained function and no longer has to do PD. Good stuff. I really love my job. About the ONLY complaint I have is the pay, which is very, very low. If and when I ever decide to make a change from dialysis, the decision will be a financial one, not a job related one.

I'm a 49 year old LPN who has been a nurse for a bit over 3 years. I plan to go back to school for my RN. I'm a person who has always wanted to be a nurse. The opportunity to attend school only presented itself to me a few years ago. Prior to school I was raising children, working full time at other employment, earlier on putting my now ex-husband thru school. I would have loved to have gone to school earlier. When I go back for my RN I will be in the 50 + catagory and will take one of the coveted seats. I'm healthy, have good stamina and energy and truly love what I do. I'm a damn good LPN, and I will be a good RN when the time comes. Actually working and doing what I do makes me feel young. And I plan to keep on working as long as god is willing.

I hold an active LPN license in both NY and FL. I attended nursing school in NY and relocated to Florida. When my NY license came up for renewal I renewed it. I doubt I'll ever return to work there, but I do plan on keeping it.

If you are truly interested in becoming a physician, do it directly. Why waste time/energy/financial resources pursuing a nursing degree? 30 isn't "too old" to do anything. I became a nurse at age 45 after a career in banking. I have a friend (retired mechanical engineer) who is in his early 60's who is in school and close to realizing his dream of becoming a PA. Info about Doctor's ~ Huummmmm ~ . Guess I'd have to say that just like folks in any other profession, everyone is different. Some are caring, some are kind, some are a**holes, some are gracious, some are rude, I could go on and on. Follow your heart and your dreams......best of luck.

I"ve been an LPN in a Davita center for about two years. Pay is not great, salary increases are minimal. There is bonus opportunity, but you would need to be employed for almost a year to partake of that benefit. Benefits are just okay. Medical/dental is reasonable priced. They will ask you for a long term commitment. Employee retention is tied to the bonus. Not sure if I would recommend dialysis right off the bat to a new grad. You will have change nurse responsibility and when things go wrong, they can head south very quickly. Depending upon the size of the facility, you may at times be the only license in the building. All the best to you in whatever you decide employment wise. If you go with Davita hit them up for the most money you possibly can upfront.

I wish you much energy, stamina and success. Nursing school is hard. You will need plenty of time to study, complete homework assignments, etc. Use your time wisely, rest when you have the opportunity, eat well and stay hydrated. All the best to you!!

Without reading through all 22 pages of the prior postings, my response is as follows: Any type of hands on nursing care will be involved in some type of body fluids, smells, etc. , it's just the nature of the beast. I work in dialysis......shouldn't be any "poo" there, right? Wrong ~ sometimes your patient is incontinent of stool...I've had patients poop on the floor, chair, etc. You clean it up, you do what you have to do. Patients will poo, pee, throw up, etc. You will clean it. If you think you can delegate that type of task to someone else, you are mistaken.